Presently, not all features on each imaging device in a network are accessible programmatically (e.g., SNMP, WSDL, etc) by a user. Instead, a subset of features may only be settable through a human interactive interface, such as an embedded web page. In other networks, a management system may be unaware of the programmatic interface, thereby leaving the human interactive interface as the only alternative to address settable features where typically each device must be manually programmed by the user.
Operating a printer via a remote user interface (UI) is disclosed in Japanese pending patent application no. JP08234945, where a printer sends a description of its UI to a printer driver on a host PC. In FIG. 1, the architecture 100 depicts a printer driver 112 that renders, at the host PC 110, a UI 114 for operating the printer based on the UI description from the printer 120. Inputs from the rendered UI on the driver are then sent to the single printer. But, this architecture and its method of operation appear limited in that it sets settings on a single printer and that there is no aggregation of multiple non-programmatic UIs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,494 discloses a means for a printer to replicate its front panel on a remote host. In this method, the printer sends a replication description of its UI to a host PC. In FIG. 2, the process flow architecture 200 and method of operation are depicted where the host PC 210 replicates a UI 220 that is the same as, or similar to, the UI 230 on the front panel of the printer 240. The printer may then be operated either by the local or replicated UI. The UIs are synchronized, such that an update to one UI is replicated in the other UI. But, this method is limited in that it only sets settings on a single printer and there is no aggregation of multiple non-programmatic UIs.
US patent publication no. 2002/0161740 A1 discloses a means for a device management application to manage devices in device groups. FIG. 3 depicts a process 300 in which a user can group printers into subgroups, e.g., logical group A 310 and logical group B 320. A printer, e.g., device A4 312, may also belong to more than one subgroup. Each subgroup can be associated with a set of settings 330. The settings are then cloned 331, 332, 333 to each printer in the respective subgroup. But, this method is limited in that: there is no aggregation of multiple non-programmatic UIs.